She said designating its campuses as “sanctuaries” for undocumented students may be “misleading to the very students we are seeking to support.”

Following Donald Trump’s election as president of the United States several universities, including Wesleyan University in Middletown, have declared themselves sanctuaries for undocumented students.

“There have been calls for universities to designate themselves as ‘sanctuary’ campuses or cities,” Herbst wrote. “Though the term has been defined and interpreted in many different ways, as a state agency, UConn does not have the authority to unilaterally apply this designation to itself. The university must adhere to state and federal law.”

However, Herbst said that UConn and its police force is “doing those things which are the essential elements of the sanctuary policies that have been adopted in several large U.S. cities.”

Essentially under the policy, university police will not ask about individuals’ immigration status, will not detain anyone based solely on immigration status, will not make arrests based on warrants issued by Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) and will not disclose department records containing information on a person’s immigration status unless compelled to by law, according to Herbst’s email.